"As part of the re-structure and cost-savings, our regular email updates will continue each Friday, but we will be ceasing our Tuesday edition with immediate effect. Our various social media streams will carry on unaffected and we would urge everyone who may not use one at the moment to consider joining. They are a great way of keeping informed."

£43k raised so far, the implication being that this amount will be matched by the philanthropists mentioned in the 18th Jan newsletter. Is that right? Which would make the end of Feb target almost met? Or is that the matched amount which would be very different? I wish things were made clearer.

And why is £200k needed by the end of March anyway, if the developers are funding the construction of the hanger, and VTTS will only start leasing it then? I wish things were made clearer.

And just what does 'temporary storage facility' until the end of April mean? I wish things were made clearer.

Rick Steer

I think many of us share your desire for more transparency and clarity.

I've written to the chairman on the trust, and sent an e-mail to the contact address listed on the Vulcan XH558 e-mail address, so far have not received anything back.

The lack of information is driving people away, just at the time when the core supporters are needed the most. Such a shame.

The other thing I'm unclear on, is what happens if the £200K is not raised - does the trust get wound up? Would the airframe be offered for sale by the administrators? Hopefully it wont come to that, but if we knew, we could be prepared, and have plans in place to safeguard the aircraft. Again - lack of information precludes any serious planning by those who have XH558 at heart.

Rick Steer

I suspect you may be right, but it doesn't hurt to try to keep them honest - as I pointed out, if they were seeking investment for a business loan, these and many more questions besides would be the minimum information they would have to provide. It should be no different just because we are 'mere' supporters.

I see pictures on Twitter of XH558 being pushed out of hanger 3, and pulled into hanger 1, which seems to have been emptied of everything else. To my untrained eye they are the same size, so why does she have to be moved? And if it was always the intention to move to hanger 1 in this interim period why didn't they say so in place of the vague 'temporary storage facility'.

Wasn't the reason given for the move that the airport needed more space for their growing freight business? So how come hanger 1 is available? Is that owned by someone else who would rather rent the space to VTTS than Doncaster airport? And is the £200k needed to pay that rent in this intervening period? If so is a similar amount going to be needed to pay the rent on the new hanger?

I wonder how much hangar 1 rent is? I think all the future planning was done during the good times when plenty money was coming in, the good times are over, the public aren't going to keep donating if they don't have a show to watch. maybe Dr Pleming should put some money in he's taken plenty out, well at least 70k as recently stated.

So. The Trust can tell the media (see their Twitter feed) that the airport is providing the temporary storage facility free until April, and that the £200k is needed to maintain them there, and that it is likely to be a year until they will have the new hanger and resume activities, but not us.

Is the £200k for maintenance until April? Or for a year? If the former will there be regular pleading for £100k per month for the remainder of the year? Or if the latter why the panic to raise it by the end of March?

The information has gone out in the regular newsletter and is on the website.

To hibernate the existing operations, re-home the vital specialist tools, displays, period artefacts and other key assets, and secure Vulcan XH558 and Canberra WK163 in the new storage location, is expected to cost around £200,000 more than the Trust can afford given the cessation of tours and events. Half of this has been promised as matched-funding by a group of philanthropists close to Vulcan to the Sky Trust, against donations from XH558’s supporters and those who believe in retaining Jet-Age aircraft in British skies.

The information has gone out in the regular newsletter and is on the website.

To hibernate the existing operations, re-home the vital specialist tools, displays, period artefacts and other key assets, and secure Vulcan XH558 and Canberra WK163 in the new storage location, is expected to cost around £200,000 more than the Trust can afford given the cessation of tours and events. Half of this has been promised as matched-funding by a group of philanthropists close to Vulcan to the Sky Trust, against donations from XH558’s supporters and those who believe in retaining Jet-Age aircraft in British skies.

And the rest of the questions?

Is the £200k for maintenance until April? Or for a year? If the former will there be regular pleading for £100k per month for the remainder of the year? Or if the latter why the apparent panic to raise it by the end of March?

"This is the latest press release maybe it answers some more questions"

Again, it takes a press release to learn that Hanger 1 is the first interim, then the 'dedicated purpose-built facility to be ready for early 2018' is another interim, until ETNA is ready. And the building of ETNA will 'most likely' not have to be funded by the Trust.

We still don't know why they had to move from Hanger 3 to Hanger 1 when the two buildings seem identical. It can't just be space for freight, that makes no sense.